


Regularly Scheduled Maintenance

by lunabee34 (Lorraine)



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-08
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-14 06:55:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/834014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorraine/pseuds/lunabee34
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 drabbles from the POVs of Seven, B'Elanna, Harry, Neelix, and Tuvok on the theme of reguarly scheduled maintenance</p>
            </blockquote>





	Regularly Scheduled Maintenance

1  
Seven of Nine does not enjoy the oral consumption of nutrients. Food is off-putting in its variety of textures and tastes, in the way it causes her body to react involuntarily--the overproduction of saliva caused by an excess of sodium, the activation of tear ducts after ingesting Mr. Neelix‘s “Four Alarm Chili.” She also finds sleeping actively disturbing. Seven attempted the activity once on the Doctor’s orders, and she will never do so again of her own volition. Regeneration begins instantly, and though she dreams, she does so cocooned in technology she finds more comforting than she cares to admit.

2  
B’Elanna likes to get her hands dirty. She’s never as happy as when she’s elbows deeps in circuitry and conduits, when she’s channeling all Voyager’s immense power exactly where and how she wants it to go. B’Elanna never pegged herself as having a power complex, but she has to admit there’s something seductive and compelling about commanding the strength of a warp core, of corralling forces that unchecked would destroy her. Every repair, every modification she makes is more than a little like playing God. Janeway captains the ship, no doubt about that, but Voyager is B’Elanna’s through and through.

3  
Harry knows that replicated reeds work just as well as the handcrafted ones he used to buy from the Music Emporium in San Francisco. If anything, the replicators can more precisely control the thickness and grade of the cane than any human manufacturer. But Harry can’t shake the feeling that Mrs. Malloy’s reeds are superior to anything he’s ever replicated on Voyager. His music feels subtly off, his tone quality diminished in a way he can’t explain. Every time Harry must replace a reed, he remembers watching Mrs. Malloy work in the back of her shop and longs for home.

4  
Neelix fervently believes that he will one day see Earth and that his whiskers won’t be down to his knees when he finally does so. He has to believe this, or he won’t be able to convince Voyager’s crew of the same. Morale is a fragile thing on this vessel, and Neelix spends more time than his shipmates would believe trying to keep them all from succumbing to despair. They notice his ostentatious gestures, his exuberance, his unremitting optimism, but they don’t mark the little things: a hand on a shoulder, a brief comforting word, a favorite dish unasked for.

5  
Tuvok does not often allow himself to think of T’Pel. To wonder how she copes with his absence is illogical. T’Pel is an imminently practical woman, and Tuvok knows she is handling their separation with the dignity and grace that first drew him to her. And yet. Tuvok always stops himself before that thought can finish. Though his crewmates would likely disagree, a Vulcan marriage requires the same cultivation and care as those of other species. Tuvok has no doubt that T’Pel fares well, and yet he must acknowledge the possibility their time apart will damage their relationship beyond repair.


End file.
